Black Bean Burgers

I have written many posts about my own culinary endeavors, as well as the food I have eaten at all sorts of restaurants. However, this may be my first about someone else's cooking.

On Friday, I went to my colleague and friend Rachael's house for black bean burgers plus corn on the cob and the British favorite 'roast potatoes'. I contributed to the preparation process by cutting up potatoes (possibly into slightly too small pieces) and mashing the beans, but otherwise I was just an observer not the chef.

For the burgers, the recipe was something like this. Fry garlic, onion and mushrooms and combine with a bit of canned corn and the mashed beans. Then add oats and a beaten egg to bind everything together.

Instead of frying the burgers on the stove, we decided to bake them in the oven, mostly because we thought they might stay together better. And of course, it's healthier, too!

Roast potatoes are a bit more complicated, at least to someone who has never made them before and hasn't grown up eating them. After peeling and cutting, you first parboil them and then roast them in the oven with some seasonings and oil.

Do Americans eat roast potatoes? I don't think so, but I suppose I can't speak for all 300+ million of us. And why do they need to be boiled first? Apparently it gives them a crispier crust with a fluffy soft inside.